With winter break approaching, students notice an increase in homework, projects and tests. Students express that this time is overwhelming, as they struggle to balance their extracurriculars with schoolwork.
Freshman Sadie Werner plays for D’Feeters Kicks Soccer Club and is on their ’09 Girls Elite Club’s national league team, which practices every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6:00 p.m. to 7:45 p.m.. She goes straight from school soccer practice to her club commitment and usually arrives home around 8:15 p.m.. In addition to these obligations, Werner is required to attend High Performance Center training sessions at Greenhill twice a week at 7:15 a.m..
“I tend to find myself doing lots of homework in the car on my way to and from practice,” said Werner.
As many courses aim to finish a unit right before a break, some students are assigned more work as a result.
“Today I have a quiz in math, a test in Latin and I also have to present my project in English,” said Werner.
However, many teachers expressed they did not intend for so many assignments to be piled up before school breaks.
“If the last section of a unit falls right before a break, we wouldn’t want it hanging over the break, but if we’re in the middle of a unit we’re not going to speed things up just to test,” said Upper School Math Department Chair Darryn Sandler ’95.
Freshman Lylah Pouratian recently moved from Los Angeles, Calif. to Dallas, Texas. She often has to go back for family events and gatherings. In addition, Pouratian just started her basketball season.
“I didn’t do a fall sport so it’s a lot to adjust to with the workload increasing,” said Pouratian.
However, as more assignments are given, there has been a change in time management. Many students tend to be more productive during school hours.
“I feel like I use my free period and time during the school day very efficiently. I recommend that to any of my friends that feel overwhelmed,” said Pouratian.
